Lynx May Hang On To Its Van Service

TALLAHASSEE -- Key Central Florida lawmakers said Friday they will push new legislation that would keep the Lynx bus service in charge of a transit program for the poor and elderly.

Rep. Fred Brummer, R-Apopka, a Lynx critic, said he will ask lawmakers to add the measure retaining Lynx to the agenda of a special session scheduled to begin Monday.

The move is an abrupt about-face for Brummer, who shepherded a bill through the Legislature last month that would bar Lynx from directing the door-to-door van service. That bill has not been acted on by Gov. Jeb Bush.

Now, Brummer said he is willing to give Lynx time to improve. His proposal would let Lynx continue the service until 2004, when it could face losing the service again if it doesn't show improvement.

"I still think that what we've done is right," Brummer said. "But what we're doing now is essentially offering an olive branch to Lynx to see if they can provide an acceptable level of service to our transportation-disadvantaged citizens."

The original Lynx legislation (SB 100) became a political lightning rod after the Orlando Sentinel reported that a company represented by a longtime friend of House Speaker Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, could bid on Lynx's three-year, $47 million contract.

Since then, county commissions in Seminole, Osceola and Orange counties have all weighed in supporting Lynx.

Feeney is running for Congress from a recently drawn district that includes portions of Seminole and Orange. He said through a spokeswoman Friday that he supports letting Lynx stay on at least two more years.

"He's happy with the compromise," said Kim Stone, Feeney's press secretary. "It's basically a grace period to see if [Lynx] can improve."

The past two years have been a public-relations disaster for Lynx. Its van service, which provides 73,000 trips a month in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, has abandoned quadriplegics outside stores and left elderly riders waiting for hours.

The legislation stripping Lynx from the program, however, has been clouded by Feeney's association with Michael Spinelli, a lobbyist for United Transportation. United, a taxi and van company, failed in January to win the $47 million contract Lynx awarded to MV Transportation of California.

Documents obtained by the Sentinel showed United immediately began working hard to gain at least a portion of that contract. Spinelli also was consulted by Feeney aide Cheryl Moore in crafting the measure barring Lynx from the program.

Feeney and Spinelli have denied that the legislation was designed to help United.

While a middle ground has emerged, the latest legislation still faces some challenging hurdles.

For lawmakers to add the measure to the agenda of the special session, which is scheduled to last through May 13, Bush would have to add it or there would have to be two-thirds support in both the House and Senate.